Juventus head into the final round of Serie A matches in sixth place following a 2-0 home defeat to Fiorentina last weekend — a result that allowed both AS Roma and AC Milan to leapfrog them in the standings. A win over Torino may not be enough: even if Spalletti's side prevail at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, they would need at least one of Roma or Milan to drop points to return to the top four.
La Stampa had reported during the week that Spalletti was ready to offer his resignation should Juventus miss out on Europe's top club competition. Reports also suggested a breakdown in his relationship with chief executive Damien Comolli. Spalletti addressed both at his pre-match press conference.
"It never crossed my mind," he said. "First there was all the talk about the new contract, then immediately afterwards they turn to resignations. You just throw every possible adjective at me. No, it has never crossed my mind."
When asked whether a poor result would change his position: "A result like this can change things. It can cross my mind to make myself available to the club. But I have not asked to speak with anyone. I have not asked to speak with John Elkann. Everything is planned — with Elkann and the club we speak every week."
He spoke about the need for clear-headedness rather than panic in the wake of the Fiorentina defeat.
"One extra episode or one fewer is not enough to drag you into conclusions that from an organisational point of view do not stand up. You have to use logic and your head and be even more motivated to reverse what has happened. You have to be capable of creating restarts — and those are above all mental. There is no longer all this time to process things quickly."
Juventus entered the season as one of the strongest candidates for a top-three finish. A first Serie A campaign below 70 points since 2010-11 now looks likely regardless of Sunday's outcome.